- Title
- Employment policies for creating effective labour markets: an evidence based assessment of labour market programmes in Indonesia
- Creator
- Allen, Emma
- Relation
- University of Newcastle Research Higher Degree Thesis
- Resource Type
- thesis
- Date
- 2015
- Description
- Research Doctorate - Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
- Description
- Trends in policy the world over have seen priority given to price stability and the strengthening economic growth, with these measures perceived to provide the conditions for creating jobs and driving an economic towards full employment. However, economies the world over remain far from full employment. This thesis uses evidence-based approaches to assess labour market programmes in Indonesia in order to gain a better understanding of how employment policies support the functioning of labour markets. One particular employment policy is closely examined, namely, public works programmes. Public works programmes have been criticized in the literature due to poor targeting, political corruption, the creation of low quality assets, and mismatches between programme specification and the labour market situation. However, these programmes remain relatively popular among policy makers and the general public due to their combination of job creation and infrastructure investment. Public works programmes can be thought of as targeted interventions that typically provide wages at fixed prices in line with the market minimum and attract labour from the back of the unemployment queue, therefore hiring "off the bottom" while providing an "on the spot" approach to creating jobs. Public works programmes therefore form a strategic pillar of employment policy. Indonesia has a long history of implementing public works programmes in various forms and these programmes have been instrumental in creating jobs, supporting crisis recovering and stimulating local economic development. Many models exist and it is important to take lessons from these models in order to support the overall development of such programmes. In Indonesia, there is a strong relationship between economic growth and employment outcomes. There are also a number of challenges within the labour market, including labour market churning and a high prevalence of vulnerable employment. The situation points to a need for the strengthening of labour market institutions, programmes and services. Policies are designed to change and/or improve outcomes. In this regard, it is crucial to understand how changes can be attributed towards policy interventions through a range of evidence-based approaches, particularly through evaluations that provide information on impact and efficiency. This thesis does this for public works programmes. Core research questions that this thesis explores relate to whether public works programmes are a suitable employment policy given the Indonesian context. Programme effectiveness is examined through case studies that consider the wage income transfer and the role of the assets created. The research undertaken highlights how evidence-based approaches can be used to strengthen policy performance. Three methods were selected for examining public works programmes, including i) a programme assessment which provides a useful framework for understanding process-oriented aspects of programme execution, ii) a survey of beneficiaries of public works programmes, and iii) a baseline and post implementation survey of a public works programme located in a rural remote area of Indonesia. This combination of assessment methodologies allowed for a systematic, yet nuanced assessment of public works programmes. The major conclusions that can be drawn from the research undertaken in this thesis include that public works programmes in Indonesia have been inclusive of vulnerable groups and successful in supporting employment creation and local economic development. This thesis fills a gap in the literature by providing i) a thorough examination of the process-oriented features of public works programmes; ii) an understanding of who the beneficiaries of public works programmes are in Indonesia, and iii) an empirically founded analysis on the impacts of the asset provision component of public works programmes. In total, this thesis demonstrates that public works programmes in Indonesia have been worthwhile, but that an expansion of such programmes should be accompanied by a number of reforms in order to optimize the efficiency of public spending.
- Subject
- employment policy; acitve labour market programmes; evidence-based; Indonesia
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/1309783
- Identifier
- uon:21943
- Rights
- Copyright 2015 Emma Allen
- Language
- eng
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